Man City team news vs Brighton is about as good as it gets: Enzo Maresca has only one player missing for Saturday, and he used the same press conference to say that nobody in his squad, Gianluigi Donnarumma included, is safe from being dropped.
Man City host Brighton at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday 31 October, with kick-off at 3pm UK time. It is the second meeting of the sides in four days after the 4-3 shootout win in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, and this one is first against third in the Premier League.
City are top on goal difference from Arsenal, both on 21 points, with the Seagulls five points back. Enzo Maresca spoke on Friday afternoon, and he had a good deal more to say than the injury update.
Man City team news vs Brighton: who is available?
The answer was short. “They are all available, only Antoine Semenyo. The rest, they are all available,” the City boss said.
That moves things on from our Man City injury list for Brighton on Thursday, when two of the three names on it were still in doubt.
Matheus Nunes: back in the right-back race
Matheus Nunes has missed City’s last two games with a groin problem and was not in the squad on Wednesday, so this is the real boost. He now competes with Abdukodir Khusanov, who got the nod at Aston Villa, and Rico Lewis, who started at right-back in the cup.
Iliman Ndiaye: over the cramp
Iliman Ndiaye came off with cramp in the 2-1 defeat at Villa Park and was an unused substitute on Wednesday. He is fit again, and with Semenyo out he joins Jeremy Doku, Allan, Ryan McAidoo and Phil Foden in the fight for the wide spots.
Antoine Semenyo: still too early
Maresca has already said Semenyo will be out until December, and he would not be drawn on anything sooner. “He’s good! He’s in a good mood, he’s inside the building, making recovery sessions and all the therapy that he needs, but again, it’s too early,” he said.
Gigio plus 10, but nobody is undroppable
Geronimo Rulli saved two penalties on Wednesday, and Maresca’s immediate response was to tell everyone that Saturday would be “Gigio plus 10”. That call stands. Donnarumma, one of five regulars rested for the cup tie, starts against Brighton.
Asked on Friday whether that makes him untouchable, though, Maresca drew a clear line. “I think it is one thing to say that at this moment it is Gigio plus 10, and another thing to say he is undroppable. They are two different things. There is no player who is undroppable, but there is a moment where it is Gigio plus 10 because in this moment I see it like this.”
Donnarumma has been at fault for goals in recent weeks, including Nicolas Jackson’s shot that squirmed under him at Villa Park. Maresca’s defence was to point back to the late save that protected the win at Old Trafford. “Any player makes mistakes, what is important is to move on, understand the reason why, to learn from that mistake and move on,” he said. “I think it’s a normal process from Gigio.”
Hurzeler wants revenge, Maresca shrugs
Fabian Hurzeler said City “had the luck” on Wednesday and that winning the second game would be the best revenge. The two have history. When Maresca was at Chelsea two seasons ago, Brighton beat his side in the FA Cup, he declined to give an opinion on Hurzeler and praised Roberto De Zerbi instead, and Brighton then won the league meeting as well and posted a pointed message on social media.
He was not biting this time. “Every manager can see something different, it depends on what you see with your eyes, but I respect what he said,” Maresca said. “If it’s revenge or these kinds of things, it’s more about them, not about us.”
He was far warmer on Brighton’s football, calling them aggressive and man-to-man oriented and noting that they attack with full-backs, wingers and attacking midfielders. “In any game they score many goals, three, four, five goals. They create many chances against any team,” he said.
Will Foden and Cherki start for Man City vs Brighton?
Rayan Cherki led the pre-match huddle on Wednesday, and Maresca was happy to see it while insisting leadership has to come from all of them: “It’s very good from Rayan, for sure.” On pairing him with Foden, he left the door open. “It’s one more weapon for us. They can play together, for sure, depends on the game. No doubt that they are both fantastic players.”
That is the big call in our Man City predicted lineup vs Brighton, which has Foden in and Cherki on the bench. Maresca’s answer leaves room for both, though we would still be surprised to see them start together against a side this aggressive.
Verdict: Man City team news vs Brighton favours Khusanov for now
We would still start Khusanov, who was in our XI when Nunes looked doubtful. Nunes has not played since his groin problem, and Brighton are the last side you want to test a returning full-back against, given how many bodies they throw forward. Bring him on later and City have a fresh right-back for the closing stages.
The Donnarumma line is the one we will remember, though. Maresca has backed his No.1 in public twice since Wednesday, but he made sure to add the small print. One more mistake against a side scoring this freely, and Rulli’s shootout will come straight back up.
